In her most excellent trolling of Donald Trump and the reactionary tendency he represents the High Priestess of Tinsel Town, Meryl Streep, showed her own haughty disdain for a significant chunk of American society, the sporting community.

Her Golden Globes address hit so many top notes the high-handed dismissal of football (American) and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) jarred, revealing a casual prejudice not only against the sports identified but those who like to watch them.

Given the popularity of gridiron, the most viewed sport in America, that is an almost Trump-like disregard for the legitimate interests of those she doesn’t understand. It also flagged the kind of detached, contemptuous attitude of the elites towards blue collar America that allowed Trump through the White House door in the first place.

Soaring Moral Abhorrence

“So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if you kick ’em all out, you’ll have nothing else to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts,” said La Streep.

It was a fine speech, full of soaring moral abhorrence of the monstrous Trump, and who in their right mind does not feel that? But why empty her bladder on sport as if it were some kind of swamp activity for unthinking nomarks.

Let me tell you, Meryl, there is no escape route in your country that is more inclusive than gridiron, that has given the disenfranchised and marginalised black American a shot at the privileged existence you enjoy.

I’m sorry the participants and many of those they engage so powerfully are not members of book clubs, regular theatre goers or fine art aficionados. This ghastly rabble, or ‘deplorables’ as one member of America’s political elite once described them, are welcome enough, no doubt, when they turn up at a cinema with their sugary drinks and popcorn to help fill your coffers. But then they stop where the red carpet starts.

Luvvie Love-in Season

Maybe I’m a little oversensitive, groaning at the start of the annual luvvie love-in season, when the great and the good of the performing arts spread their peacock feathers on the highest stage and pontificate downwards to the great unwashed.

I mean, the cheek of it, this put-upon constituency of troubadours grouping themselves with Trump’s foreigners and the Press as the most vilified in society. Meryl was borrowing from Hugh Laurie of House fame, with that reference, a man who learned all he knows about life in the margins while slumming it at Eton and Cambridge. We’ll be sending food parcels next to Malibu and Beverly Hills, the poor little darlings.

The other contradiction in Streep’s condescension toward the jocks of this world is how well Hollywood has done out of the sport genre. Most of those applauding Meryl in the LA audience think Rocky Balboa is the most famous fighter to come out of Philadelphia.

Pioneering Souls

Indeed the steps leading up to the Museum of Art are among the city’s most famous landmarks, not as a result of any exhibits inside but because Sylvester Stallone galloped up and down them in his sweatpants.

Sport address issues, too, and importantly at grassroots level led by pioneering souls who earn not a bean for their contribution.

So when the great Meryl is up on that stage amplifying the magnificent work actors do in “entering the lives of people who are different from us, and let you feel what that feels like…breathtaking, compassionate work,” it is worth noting that there are thousands of volunteers with a whistle in their hands teaching kids how to be good citizens through engagement in sport.

The difference is they aren’t given a platform to project their values and their worth to the world. They just get on with it. Yes, you are right, Meryl, that’s not art, it’s life. And in many cases, a life saver.

iNews

https://inews.co.uk

The i newsletter

News for open-minded people. Delivered straight to your inbox.

Email address:

By entering your email address and clicking on the sign up button, you are agreeing to receive the latest daily news, news features and service updates from the i via email. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will not pass on your information.

We know that sometimes it’s easier for us to come to you with the news. That's why our new email newsletter will deliver a mobile-friendly snapshot of inews.co.uk to your inbox every morning, from Monday to Saturday.

This will feature the stories you need to know, as well as a curated selection of the best reads from across the site. Of course, you can easily opt out at any time, but we're confident that you won't.

Oliver Duff, Editor

By entering your email address and clicking on the sign up button below, you are agreeing to receive the latest daily news, news features and service updates from the i via email. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will not pass on your information.

By entering your email address and clicking on the sign up button, you are agreeing to receive the latest daily news, news features and service updates from the i via email. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will not pass on your information.